Urban Planner
Education and Training
- Most urban planners have a master’s degree.
- They get certification or licensure by taking additional training and/or exams.
- Some workers begin training early by doing internships in city, state, or federal government offices or in architectural or engineering firms.
Earnings
Median annual wages are $59,810.
Job Prospects
- Jobs will grow faster than the average rate for other occupations.
- Areas of population growth and the building of new communities will influence where new planners work.
- People with advanced planning degrees, with certification, and with good mapping skills will have better prospects.
Job Duties
- Designing land use for parks, schools, government buildings, parking, transportation, and more
- Planning ways to minimize traffic problems and to dispose of garbage
- Using demographics to decide how much space will be needed in the present and the future for the needs of the local population
- Scheduling meetings and hearings to listen to the concerns and ideas of the public
Working Conditions
- Planners spend some of their time in relative comfort in a government or business office.
- They must often travel to outdoor sites to inspect land under consideration for development.
- Workers may come under public pressure when citizens disagree with land use plans.
- Planners often need to attend meetings or other events during evenings and weekends.
Shana Johnson, Urban Planner
Courtesy Shana Johnson
Shana Johnson got interested in urban planning when, as a senior geography major, she took a course in transportation. She learned that transportation strongly influences how regions grow.
Many American communities, for example, grew up around car transportation. Today, urban planners pursue balanced land uses that allow people to access jobs, schools, and shopping with more kinds of transportation. This can lead to a more vibrant economy and a safer, more prosperous, less polluted environment for people.
Planning the Future
Planners work with government and community representatives, and hold public meetings to hear the concerns of individual citizens. Through this input, plans take shape.
There are several areas of urban planning, including land use and zoning, environmental planning, economic development, transportation and housing, and community development. While each urban planner specializes in one of these areas, all planners must have some knowledge about every area of planning.
Planners with different specializations often work together. Local transportation and land use planners work together because there is a strong relationship between transportation options and land uses for an area.
Getting Involved
Shana encourages teens to get involved as citizens. “Go to public meetings,” she urges. “Ask questions; talk with planners.”
Most planners have master’s degrees, but interested college students can get started with majors in geography, government, or environmental science.
Certain skills are vital. “You must be able to use Geographic Information Systems, to make maps on a computer,” Shana says. “You must be a good communicator, with excellent speaking and writing ability.” Planners also need to be comfortable working with large data sets, since planning involves analyzing data from sources such as the U.S. Census Bureau.
Internships—or first jobs in related fields—are important. Try community development centers, local governments, housing nonprofits, and related think tanks. Shana worked at the federal Bureau of Transportation Statistics for two years between college and planning school.
Most of all, she says, “Be passionate about making a better community for people for the future.”
To see Go!—an online transportation magazine for teens, click on http://go-explore-trans.org/go/gonew/
To read an article Shana co-authored about growing up on a military base in Japan and how it influenced her interest in transportation, go to http://go-explore-trans.org/go/gonew/?/main/articles/planning-machidas
Take a look at the American Planning Association’s youth web page to learn about what students wrote for an essay contest: http://www.planning.org/education/youth/
Urban Planner
Education and Training
- Most urban planners have a master’s degree.
- They get certification or licensure by taking additional training and/or exams.
- Some workers begin training early by doing internships in city, state, or federal government offices or in architectural or engineering firms.
Earnings
Median annual wages are $59,810.
Job Prospects
- Jobs will grow faster than the average rate for other occupations.
- Areas of population growth and the building of new communities will influence where new planners work.
- People with advanced planning degrees, with certification, and with good mapping skills will have better prospects.
Job Duties
- Designing land use for parks, schools, government buildings, parking, transportation, and more
- Planning ways to minimize traffic problems and to dispose of garbage
- Using demographics to decide how much space will be needed in the present and the future for the needs of the local population
- Scheduling meetings and hearings to listen to the concerns and ideas of the public
Working Conditions
- Planners spend some of their time in relative comfort in a government or business office.
- They must often travel to outdoor sites to inspect land under consideration for development.
- Workers may come under public pressure when citizens disagree with land use plans.
- Planners often need to attend meetings or other events during evenings and weekends.
Shana Johnson, Urban Planner
Courtesy Shana Johnson
Shana Johnson got interested in urban planning when, as a senior geography major, she took a course in transportation. She learned that transportation strongly influences how regions grow.
Many American communities, for example, grew up around car transportation. Today, urban planners pursue balanced land uses that allow people to access jobs, schools, and shopping with more kinds of transportation. This can lead to a more vibrant economy and a safer, more prosperous, less polluted environment for people.
Planning the Future
Planners work with government and community representatives, and hold public meetings to hear the concerns of individual citizens. Through this input, plans take shape.
There are several areas of urban planning, including land use and zoning, environmental planning, economic development, transportation and housing, and community development. While each urban planner specializes in one of these areas, all planners must have some knowledge about every area of planning.
Planners with different specializations often work together. Local transportation and land use planners work together because there is a strong relationship between transportation options and land uses for an area.
Getting Involved
Shana encourages teens to get involved as citizens. “Go to public meetings,” she urges. “Ask questions; talk with planners.”
Most planners have master’s degrees, but interested college students can get started with majors in geography, government, or environmental science.
Certain skills are vital. “You must be able to use Geographic Information Systems, to make maps on a computer,” Shana says. “You must be a good communicator, with excellent speaking and writing ability.” Planners also need to be comfortable working with large data sets, since planning involves analyzing data from sources such as the U.S. Census Bureau.
Internships—or first jobs in related fields—are important. Try community development centers, local governments, housing nonprofits, and related think tanks. Shana worked at the federal Bureau of Transportation Statistics for two years between college and planning school.
Most of all, she says, “Be passionate about making a better community for people for the future.”
To see Go!—an online transportation magazine for teens, click on http://go-explore-trans.org/go/gonew/
To read an article Shana co-authored about growing up on a military base in Japan and how it influenced her interest in transportation, go to http://go-explore-trans.org/go/gonew/?/main/articles/planning-machidas
Take a look at the American Planning Association’s youth web page to learn about what students wrote for an essay contest: http://www.planning.org/education/youth/
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